GOLF: The Woodlands’ McDougald qualifies for U.S. Girls Junior Championship

Matt Stephens

Published
11:08 am CDT, Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Woodlands sophomore Brooke McDougald committed to Texas Christian University on Wednesday following her second visit to the Fort Worth campus.

The Woodlands sophomore Brooke McDougald committed to Texas Christian University on Wednesday following her second visit to the Fort Worth campus.

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The Woodlands sophomore Brooke McDougald committed to Texas Christian University on Wednesday following her second visit to the Fort Worth campus.

The Woodlands sophomore Brooke McDougald committed to Texas Christian University on Wednesday following her second visit to the Fort Worth campus.

GOLF: The Woodlands’ McDougald qualifies for U.S. Girls Junior Championship

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Brooke McDougald knew she had a chance to qualify despite the immense talent of the 35 golfers in the field, but she had not anticipated a shot at winning the tournament until the last few holes.

“These are some of the best girls from all over the state,” McDougald said. “I knew I had a chance to qualify, but with four or five holes left I realized I had a chance to win.”

McDougald, an incoming sophomore at The Woodlands High School, made three birdies over the last five holes to tie for first at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship Qualifier at Quail Valley Golf Course on June 26 in Missouri City. She earned one of the five spots for the United States Golf Association’s U.S. Girls Junior Championship in Daly City, Calif., on July 16-21.

The tournament will feature more than 150 of the nation’s best 18-and-under female golfers.

“This is the biggest tournament you can get into for 18 and under,” McDougald said. “Every college coach is going to be at this event.”

The Woodlands native was two strokes short of qualifying for the tournament last summer, but McDougald has improved her game over the last year, becoming the No. 2 golfer for the Lady Highlanders, who finished second at the state championships earlier this year.

“She was very important,” The Woodlands golf coach Steve Cribari said. “She was the glue that kept the team together. She’s got a great future and she’s close to being one of the better players in the state as it is.”

Cribari called the Junior Championship “a big deal,” and said incoming senior Kelly McGovern also qualified for the event while incoming senior Diego Trevino and recent graduate Freddie Wedel qualified for the boys tournament, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

McDougald hopes to make the match play portion of the event, which only the top 64 golfers qualify for after the first 36 holes of the tournament July 16-17. While she considers herself an underdog, she “won’t just be happy to be there.”

McDougald said her short game is her strength and that she hopes to improve her driving distance.

“What’s going to the next level is ball striking,” she said. “But I think it’s important to keep working on your short game.”

An early start

McDougald began golfing at age 3. Her father, Micky McDougald, was a basketball player growing up, but became an avid golfer following a knee injury. He began playing a couple of days a week with Brooke when she was younger, and the tradition grew to playing seven days a week from the time she was 8 until she entered high school.

“It was just something we did as a family,” the older McDougald said. “I never imagined she would take it to this level.

“We’re very proud of her. She started beating me a year ago and now I can’t beat her again. … I hate to admit that she has a mental advantage over me.”

Micky said he has only missed one of the hundreds of tournaments Brooke has played in, and he was proud of how aggressive his daughter was over the last few holes of the qualifier June 26.

While Brooke has won more than 100 tournaments, Micky believes that victory was maybe the most important because of the access it provides her to college recruits.

Hard work paying off

Micky said his daughter plays golf from 12:50 p.m. everyday at school until it’s dark and then goes home to study until midnight or 1 a.m. She is tied for first in her class and was recently named to the Class 5A Academic All-State first team.

“A 96 was the lowest grade she brought home on her report card,” Micky said. “She’s very self motivated.”

Cribari echoed Micky’s sentiments and said he is pleased to see his athletes working hard over the summer to hone their skills. Competing in a major nationwide tournament is even better.

“It’s going to make them better people and it’s going to help improve their games,” Cribari said.

Looking to the future

Brooke — who is hoping to impress those college coaches at the Junior Championship — said she would like to play collegiate golf one day, possibly close to home like at Baylor University, the University of Oklahoma, Texas Christian University, the University of Texas, or other nearby colleges.

And she is not ruling out a career as a professional golfer.

“The chances of being a professional athlete are pretty slim, but I’d like to give it a shot,” she said.

For more information on the U.S. Girls Junior Championship, visit www.usga.org.